How can I play content from my computer on my television?

There are various ways for you to connect your computer to your TV, in order to enjoy music, videos, games and more on the TV's bigger screen. The easiest way to do this is by using a cable, which is described here below, but you can also do it wirelessly, using Wi-Fi Direct .

According to your TV and computer models, the cable you will need to use might differ. Modern devices use HDMI connectors and cables - which will be the example used in this tutorial - but you might need to use older connections such as:

DVI

VGA

S-Video

RCA/Composite

Connect your PC to your TV using an HDMI cable. Make sure the cable is securely connected both on your PC and on your TV.

NOTE: Make sure to use an authorised HIGH SPEED HDMI cable bearing the HDMI logo.

Press thebutton on your remote repeatedly to select the HDMI input corresponding to the connected computer.

Right-click any blank part of your desktop and select Screen Resolution.

In the menu Screen Resolution menu, you should see 2 screens displayed.

Select the TV screen (likely to be the larger one), and use the highest option available. If the result is not satisfactory, you can try lower resolution settings.

NOTE: The available options will vary according to your computer and TV. Make sure to select a resolution with an aspect ratio matching your TV format - usually 16:9. Common 16:9 resolutions are 1920x1080, 1600x900, 1366x768 and 1280x720.

Set Multiple displays to Duplicate these displays to mirror the screens, or tick the Make this my main display box to use the TV's potentially higher resolutions, according to your computer and TV specifications.

Audio settings

Unless you are intentionally using some external speakers for your computer, you will likely want the sound to be output by your TV's speakers. Here is how to do it:

Right-click the Volume mixer, represented by a speaker icon in the system tray, and select "Playback devices."

Right-click on your Television in the list of devices, and select "Set as Default Device."

Finally, click "Apply", then "OK."

You should now hear the sound output from your computer through your TV speakers.

NOTE: If you still do not hear sound from your TV speakers, your HDMI cable is probably damaged or does not support audio. Make sure to use an authorised HIGH SPEED HDMI cable bearing the HDMI logo.

You can either simply mirror the display from your computer to your TV, or choose to set the TV as the primary display.To set up mirroring, proceed as follows:

Open System Preferences from the Apple menu

Select Displays, and click on the Arrangements tab

Check the Mirror Displays box

While this usually looks great on a 720p TV screen, it’s not always the case for 1080p TVs. Since the 1080p resolution is greater than what is often found on Mac displays, you might want to set the TV as the primary display instead. To do so:

Open System Preferences from the Apple menu

Select Displays, and click on the Arrangements tab

Drag the white bar from the smaller computer screen to the external TV display

Audio settings

Unless you are intentionally using some external speakers for your computer, you will likely want the sound to be output by your TV's speakers. Here is how to do it:

Open System Preferences from the Apple menu

Select Sound, and click on the Output tab

Select your TV / the device for which HDMI is displayed in the Type column

You should now hear the sound output from your computer through your TV speakers.

NOTE: If you still do not hear sound from your TV speakers, your HDMI cable or adapter is probably damaged or does not support audio. Make sure to use an authorised HIGH SPEED HDMI cable bearing the HDMI logo.